Discussion
How much is 'not the earth'?
I'd stick with AA over AAA, there's a lot more energy in an AA, and the form factors are nicer IMO.
Fenix LD11 runs on a single AA, bright and reliable.
Olight S15 is similar.
Can get 2*AA stuff which is considerably brighter, but obviously a bit more expensive. Most will need rechargeable AA's or the lithium AA's (Energizer L91 or similar) to reach their full potential.
I'd stick with AA over AAA, there's a lot more energy in an AA, and the form factors are nicer IMO.
Fenix LD11 runs on a single AA, bright and reliable.
Olight S15 is similar.
Can get 2*AA stuff which is considerably brighter, but obviously a bit more expensive. Most will need rechargeable AA's or the lithium AA's (Energizer L91 or similar) to reach their full potential.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Top tip here. Don't use alkaline batteries (in anything, but especially not a torch). Alkaline are very prone to leaking, don't like the cold and actually have very poor high amp performance. They are the absolute worst battery to use in a torch or a digital camera.If you use the torch often, treat yourself to some NiMh rechargeable batteries. You want what is known as Low Self Discharge (LSD) ones. These will hold 70% of their charge for 3 years. Non LSD ones will run flat in 2-4 weeks. The best on the market is probably Sanyo Eneloop's. And not too pricey to buy.
If you don't use the torch often, then another option is Lithium primaries, such as Energizer Lithium. You can buy these off ebay quite cheaply. These are a direct replacement for an alkaline battery, but they don't leak, don't get affected by cold weather and have a great shelf life. They also perform much better under higher amp draws.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
1AA I'd have a look at the Xeno E03.
XP-G2, this will shine a beam further, but not quite as bright:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/XENO-Tiger-E03-v3-Cree-X...
XM-L2, this is more floody, bigger hot spot, brighter but won't shine as far:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/XENO-Tiger-E03-v3-Cree-X...
I highly advise going for something labelled as Neutral White (NW) output. The colour of the beam will be much nicer and far superior to a Cool White beam, which many/most lights seem to be.
If you like Led Lensers, then the P5.2 is quite a nice 1AA light. Sadly only available in cool white however and pricer than the Xeno's.
For 2AA I'd recommend you take a look at the Klarus P2A. It doesn't have the latest emitter, but it is a very good 2AA torch for the money.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KLARUS-P2A-245-lumens-CR...
The Olight S15 is also worth taking a look at. It runs on 1AA, but also comes with an extender tube that lets you run it on 2AA.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OLIGHT-S15-Baton-280lume...
If you want to stick with Maglite, then there is the Mini Maglite Pro+ and the 3xAAA powered XL200. You are probably best off buying from ebay (maybe even the USA via ebay), although all Mag's are a little pricey. I like them, but they are a bit subpar when it comes to performance.
Just a word about the Led Lenser.
I actually quite like them and they are versatile, but they use a TIR optic rather than a reflector, this is their trade mark zoom ability.
The downside is, they are all or nothing at each end of the spectrum. i.e. they are all flood, which is great, but only any good for 10 feet away. Or all zoom, which is great for distance, but a narrow field of view.
A traditional reflector light allows a much broader ability all the time, usually not as floody or as zoom focused, but you get a hot spot and spill beam.
The other thing to note is, the P7/7.2 are pretty chunky. Ok for a coat pocket, but not something you'd want to carry about in your jeans pocket. A 1AA or 2AA light however is something you can carry easily.
I actually quite like them and they are versatile, but they use a TIR optic rather than a reflector, this is their trade mark zoom ability.
The downside is, they are all or nothing at each end of the spectrum. i.e. they are all flood, which is great, but only any good for 10 feet away. Or all zoom, which is great for distance, but a narrow field of view.
A traditional reflector light allows a much broader ability all the time, usually not as floody or as zoom focused, but you get a hot spot and spill beam.
The other thing to note is, the P7/7.2 are pretty chunky. Ok for a coat pocket, but not something you'd want to carry about in your jeans pocket. A 1AA or 2AA light however is something you can carry easily.
300bhp/ton said:
Just a word about the Led Lenser.
I actually quite like them and they are versatile, but they use a TIR optic rather than a reflector, this is their trade mark zoom ability.
The downside is, they are all or nothing at each end of the spectrum. i.e. they are all flood, which is great, but only any good for 10 feet away. Or all zoom, which is great for distance, but a narrow field of view.
A traditional reflector light allows a much broader ability all the time, usually not as floody or as zoom focused, but you get a hot spot and spill beam.
The other thing to note is, the P7/7.2 are pretty chunky. Ok for a coat pocket, but not something you'd want to carry about in your jeans pocket. A 1AA or 2AA light however is something you can carry easily.
That 'downside' is the reason why most of the UK Mountain Rescue teams in the UK use their head-lamps and torches. As for the statement of them being all or flood or zoom; well that is simply not correct. I have quite a few Lensers and myriad other torches that I've used in anger on MR searches, and the Lensers are an excellent swiss army knife of a torch.I actually quite like them and they are versatile, but they use a TIR optic rather than a reflector, this is their trade mark zoom ability.
The downside is, they are all or nothing at each end of the spectrum. i.e. they are all flood, which is great, but only any good for 10 feet away. Or all zoom, which is great for distance, but a narrow field of view.
A traditional reflector light allows a much broader ability all the time, usually not as floody or as zoom focused, but you get a hot spot and spill beam.
The other thing to note is, the P7/7.2 are pretty chunky. Ok for a coat pocket, but not something you'd want to carry about in your jeans pocket. A 1AA or 2AA light however is something you can carry easily.
Further, there are times when extra throw with little spill is actually really rather useful in general use. Similarly the flood feature. And if a P7 is too big then get one of the smaller models.
The only real downside is their cost and the likes of Banggood or Dealtimne extreme sell copies for a fraction of the price.
Where a traditional reflector is very useful is when you can't manually adjust it, i.e. on bike light or where you have a particular beam requirement that is not achievable via a focussing lens.
300bhp/ton said:
I think you missed my point.
I'm not knocking the ability of a zooming light, just explaining they are good at either flood or throw, but not very good at offering a mix of both at the "same" time.
So depends on what you want to use it for.
I can kind of see where you're coming from, but I'd say that that relatively minor drawback is largely offset by the versatility of a) being able to go one way or another, and b) being able to pick a midpoint if you don't want either extreme. Yes, there are times when having enough flood to check your footing out of the corner of your eye whilst you're actively looking a long way ahead with the main part of the beam is very handy - and the Lensers aren't ideal for that. But for the times when you want to look a long way away, very close up, or most places in between you can zoom to a range that suits and it just works.I'm not knocking the ability of a zooming light, just explaining they are good at either flood or throw, but not very good at offering a mix of both at the "same" time.
So depends on what you want to use it for.
There's no one torch that'll do it all, you pay your money you take your choice.
And you're right about the body of the P7/T7 - they're chunky, but for in the hand use they're the best sized and weighted torch I own. They're just comfortable. So yes, if your torch is likely to spend a lot of time in a pair of skinny jeans it'd be worth taking the belt holster out with you instead.
Now having spent the last paragraph extolling the virtues of Lensers, I'm looking for a new torch. Something much lighter than the T7 - I'm thinking single AA, maybe single AAA powered (bonus if USB rechargeble) and which'll be happy with Eneloops. Max £25 and doesn't need to be very powerful - I briefly considered using one of my Nitecore Tubes, a 45 lumen keyring torch (an excellent little torch) but I'd like a little more grunt.
Anything spring to mind?
ETA:
Magnet in tailcap a bonus. Like the sound of that feature, curious to see how much real world use I'd get from it.
Edited by tenohfive on Monday 17th August 19:34
Edited by tenohfive on Monday 17th August 19:53
tenohfive said:
Now having spent the last paragraph extolling the virtues of Lensers, I'm looking for a new torch. Something much lighter than the T7 - I'm thinking single AA, maybe single AAA powered (bonus if USB rechargeble) and which'll be happy with Eneloops. Max £25 and doesn't need to be very powerful - I briefly considered using one of my Nitecore Tubes, a 45 lumen keyring torch (an excellent little torch) but I'd like a little more grunt.
Anything spring to mind?
I like single AA torches.I always have a supply of charged Eneloops for my DSLR flash anyway and I like something that fits in a pocket without being noticeable. My favourite two are:Anything spring to mind?
Fenix E11. This is barely bigger than the battery itself and lives in the inside pocket of my day-to-day coat.
ThruNite Archer 1A. This is substantially larger than the Fenix but the size allows a higher quality reflector which benefits the shape of the beam. This lives on the hall table and is the default torch I pick up in the house. I also have a cheap handle bar mount for my mountain bike and the ThruNite is my reserve light I take in my saddle bag as a backup to get me home if required.
tenohfive said:
I can kind of see where you're coming from, but I'd say that that relatively minor drawback is largely offset by the versatility of a) being able to go one way or another, and b) being able to pick a midpoint if you don't want either extreme. Yes, there are times when having enough flood to check your footing out of the corner of your eye whilst you're actively looking a long way ahead with the main part of the beam is very handy - and the Lensers aren't ideal for that. But for the times when you want to look a long way away, very close up, or most places in between you can zoom to a range that suits and it just works.
To give an example of what a zooming torch can look like, more for those that don't know.This isn't a Lenser, but give a good comparison from flood to throw and to a reflector torch.
A throwy reflector light:
Another reflector light, not a thrower or a flooder.
300bhp, I think your post illustrates the point pretty well. Although something in the middle may be helpful...if I could be bothered to wait for sunset I'd do one myself, I've got an H7.2 within arms reach.
For me, I'm currently considering 3 options - Fenix E12 (light, small, powerful enough) vs. Eagletac D25 AAA Mini (light, small, powerful enough, tail magnet - and I've never owned an Eagletac)...and then there's the left field option, which is include 16340 options - which brings me to the Thrunite Archer 1C V2 in either Cool White (500 lumens) or Neutral White (418 lumens.) Completely overspecced but still light (50g) and small enough to fit the bill. Seems to get some decent reviews.
I'm pretty well decided on the Thrunite, but can't make my mind up whether to go CW (slightly more OTF lumens) or NW (a bit throwier.)
For me, I'm currently considering 3 options - Fenix E12 (light, small, powerful enough) vs. Eagletac D25 AAA Mini (light, small, powerful enough, tail magnet - and I've never owned an Eagletac)...and then there's the left field option, which is include 16340 options - which brings me to the Thrunite Archer 1C V2 in either Cool White (500 lumens) or Neutral White (418 lumens.) Completely overspecced but still light (50g) and small enough to fit the bill. Seems to get some decent reviews.
I'm pretty well decided on the Thrunite, but can't make my mind up whether to go CW (slightly more OTF lumens) or NW (a bit throwier.)
Even though I really didn't need it, this thread made me buy a Fenix PD35
And a pair of Nitecore 18650s....
And a Nitecore i2 charger....
Wifey wasn't best pleased when she saw the bill, but was mighty impressed when she saw the light it kicks out
My dilemma now is that my ancient but very lovely 5 D-cell Maglite is not getting used - it already has an LED conversion in it, which I think was about 320 lumens, but its clearly being out-performed by the Fenix
However, I love the zoom capability of the Maglite and I was wondering what I can do with it to improve the performance AND keep the zoom
I'll be selling a genuine Ferrari 2 AA cell Maglite to fund it (can't believe what these are fetching on Ebay...)
Any suggestions, or am I flogging a dead horse by trying to get an ancient old Maglite to keep up with dedicated Cree stuff?
And a pair of Nitecore 18650s....
And a Nitecore i2 charger....
Wifey wasn't best pleased when she saw the bill, but was mighty impressed when she saw the light it kicks out
My dilemma now is that my ancient but very lovely 5 D-cell Maglite is not getting used - it already has an LED conversion in it, which I think was about 320 lumens, but its clearly being out-performed by the Fenix
However, I love the zoom capability of the Maglite and I was wondering what I can do with it to improve the performance AND keep the zoom
I'll be selling a genuine Ferrari 2 AA cell Maglite to fund it (can't believe what these are fetching on Ebay...)
Any suggestions, or am I flogging a dead horse by trying to get an ancient old Maglite to keep up with dedicated Cree stuff?
tenohfive said:
but can't make my mind up whether to go CW (slightly more OTF lumens) or NW (a bit throwier.)
Tint doesn't really affect throw. Reflector and/or LED size will change how focused the beam is and dictate if it's throwier or not.Simple rule, bigger the reflector = more throw. Smaller the LED = more throw.
So CW or NW of the same LED won't have any noticeable affect on throw.
As a rule the highest bins (Cree classify LED's into different brightness bins) are Cool White. But the reality is you'll not be able to tell the lumen difference from a lower bin visually by eye. NW tints are generally far superior in terms of CRI (colour rendition index) and are more pleasing to the eye.
CW works ok indoors and in urban environments, but will still bleach colours. NW is generally nicer in all conditions and especially so if in rural settings. You'll also notice tint all the time, no matter which mode you have the light on. So my preference would be to go NW every time.
Some examples of tint:
300bhp/ton said:
Tint doesn't really affect throw. Reflector and/or LED size will change how focused the beam is and dictate if it's throwier or not.
Simple rule, bigger the reflector = more throw. Smaller the LED = more throw.
So CW or NW of the same LED won't have any noticeable affect on throw.
As a rule the highest bins (Cree classify LED's into different brightness bins) are Cool White. But the reality is you'll not be able to tell the lumen difference from a lower bin visually by eye. NW tints are generally far superior in terms of CRI (colour rendition index) and are more pleasing to the eye.
CW works ok indoors and in urban environments, but will still bleach colours. NW is generally nicer in all conditions and especially so if in rural settings. You'll also notice tint all the time, no matter which mode you have the light on. So my preference would be to go NW every time.
The 'throwy' comment comes from this review, and in fairness if you look at the beam patterns the NW does appear to have a tighter hotspot.Simple rule, bigger the reflector = more throw. Smaller the LED = more throw.
So CW or NW of the same LED won't have any noticeable affect on throw.
As a rule the highest bins (Cree classify LED's into different brightness bins) are Cool White. But the reality is you'll not be able to tell the lumen difference from a lower bin visually by eye. NW tints are generally far superior in terms of CRI (colour rendition index) and are more pleasing to the eye.
CW works ok indoors and in urban environments, but will still bleach colours. NW is generally nicer in all conditions and especially so if in rural settings. You'll also notice tint all the time, no matter which mode you have the light on. So my preference would be to go NW every time.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php...
This'll be predominately urban/indoors and colour accuracy isn't so important. But sod it, I don't own any NW lights so may as well give it a go. See if I'm converted for the inevitable future purchases this thread will no doubt inspire (I've been good - only 3 this year.)
Cheers for the tips.
Just had a quick look at the link. The NW tested used the XP-G2 rather than an XP-L/XM-L2 emitter. The XP-G2 is a smaller led, so more throwy.
If you want to bag an awesome light join up here. This is one kick ass torch at a great price:
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/36667
Friendlier forum than CPF too.
If you want to bag an awesome light join up here. This is one kick ass torch at a great price:
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/36667
Friendlier forum than CPF too.
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